“A huge influence”: The greatest folk guitarist of all time, according to Joan Armatrading
“Writing is all about self-editing,” Joan Armatrading once said. “It’s all about being present, being aware of what’s happening.” Being self-aware is not just something you do; it’s something you elicit, and somehow, Armatrading has always been able to deliver a self-effacing yet hard-hitting emotional tone, if only on vocal alone.
Being open to yourself as a person, vocalist, musician, and writer is not easy. Some curate boundless soundscapes by peering outward and reflecting on their surroundings and those within them. Others build a world based on self-reflection, allowing listeners to see themselves in the mirrored waves of creativity. Some, like Armatrading, excel at both; their music is a gorgeous tapestry of past, present, and future.
This approach has allowed the singer’s career to evolve constantly, seamlessly blending the velvety romanticism of her early songs with the more pop-leaning cynicism of her later work. Early lines like “With a lover, I could hold my head back” resonate with the same emotionally complex intonation as later lyrics like “So you’re in love, I say what of it?”—all demonstrating Armatrading’s incredible ability to blend various existential notes in one.
Armatrading’s ability to inject lyrical realism with a hint of nuanced satire likely came from growing up around the sounds of Simon and Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, Marianne Faithfull, Joni Mitchell, and many more. Her love for folk, jazz, soul, and reggae undoubtedly influenced her vocal delivery while enabling her songwriting to flourish under her warm and sultry grooves.
This means that it likely doesn’t come as a surprise that her favourite folk guitarist of all time is ahead-of-his-time folk virtuoso Bert Jansch, who Neil Young once regarded as akin to Jimi Hendrix in the realm of acoustic playing. For Armatrading, Jansch was untouchable because of his technicality, which set him apart from anyone else in the space.
“Bert Jansch may not be a household name, but you certainly will have heard his music, he’s been a huge influence on musicians all over the world,” the singer said via BBC Sounds. She continued: “What makes Bert’s guitar playing so wonderful is his virtuosos finger-picking and string-bending techniques. […] String bending gives the guitar more vocal quality. It makes the notes sound sharper or flatter. It’s key to the Bert Jansch sound.”
The Pentangle leader became known for pushing the boundaries of traditional folk music and incorporating elements from other genres, an innovative quality that Armatrading has been celebrated for. Although Jansch started as a significant influence in songwriting and production, the two figures weaved together in a more kindred sense as time went by, each setting the bar high for artistic exploration in music.
